Plugging your iPod touch or iPhone (or Droid, if you will) into your car stereo isn't the most safety conscious activity, but it's the only way most of us can access our streaming Internet radio favorites while on the go. That might be changing. As GigaOm reports, Pandora is preparing to aggressively target the automotive space.
According to GigaOm, Pandora CTO Tom Conrad says half of the Internet radio's mobile users listen to Pandora in the car (like us, they just connect their phones to their stereos). Conrad says Pandora is working with car manufacturers to support Pandora via in-dash controls.
This means that instead of fumbling with your iPhone or Droid and potentially getting in an accident, you could change the station or go to a different saved playlist from your dashboard.
This would work using a tethered-handset mode that would connect the mobile device by Bluetooth or another technology to the dash for playback.
Pandora already has a deal with Ford and its SYNC technology (co-developed with Microsoft), and Conrad hinted at some announcements planned for CES in January.